Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-04-21
HoRsEMANsHIP ON THE PLAINS,
How ne "BrOneho Buster Tames the
wild Steed Of the PrairIes.

Wild Steed Of the PrairIes.
Inns gine yourself then firmly seated.
II the horse is blinded you reach forward
and remove the blind. Now the struggle
begins. For q moment he stands in his
tracks, but you can feel his muscles grow
ing tense as he gathers himself together.
Crouching like wildcat about to spring,
he leaps high into the air and twists and
shakes himself in a mad effort TO throw
off the unaccustomed burden. He comes
down with his head between his fore legs
and his tail behind his hind legs, striking
the ground stiff legged; and as soon as he
has given you the full benefit of the shock
crouches for another leap. This is "buck
ing" or as the more initiated commonly
term it, pitching" No two horses pitch
alike, and no horse pitches twice alike.
Sometimes he will strike on his fore feet
and nose, throwing his breach so high as
to turn somersault forward. Sometimes
he will make lateral jump, and at others
"change end, " or turn half round in the
air. Now a "bronco bustern generally
does his work in the presence of hand
full of spectators; and if he is one of the
few men who are absolutely certain that
nothing can unseat him, he lets the
horse buck himself weary, while he de-
lights the claque by rolling and lighting
a cigarette or STOPPING to pick up hand
full of dirt and throw it in the horse's face.
Another favorite proof of his deXterity is
to rowel the horse from ear to tail.
A sharp pull at the horses head just at
the right moment, and the steel thrown
into his flank will break the rhythm of
his pitching, and sharp blow on the
hind quarters with your whip compels
him to lunge forward. He will then run
a hundred yards or SO and stop suddenly
with his fore legs planted firmly before
him. This Of course recessitates your
throwing your body well back, and he
seizes this opportunity to rear and throw
himself violently on his back. Now is the
time when man shows whether he is
rider or foolhardy braggart. Obviously
you cannot retain your seat. A horse in
executing this maneuver will often thrust
the horn of the saddle fast in the ground
and be left kicking turtlewise. You
must see how he is going to strike and
throw yourself to the enc side or the
other, SO that you have always one foot
in position to cross him with as he strug-
giles to rise. 1t is perfectly legitimate for
q horse to throw himself backward in
this way three or four times, but when
you have conclusively demonstrated to
him that he accomplishes nothing by it,
if he persists in it it must be treate as
willful misconduct If you cannot, by
squirting him in the flank as he rises and
thus bringing his hind parts into action
prevent his overrearing, you must
strike him shar0 blow between the ears
with the butt of your whip as he rises,
and let him understand that he is over
stepping the bounds of fair fighting.
After an hour OF two he is completely
exhausted and should be turned loose
until the next day. His second lesson
will try your seat and your patience even
more severely, for you will then have
bitted him for the first time and he has
learned better how to handle himself
under your weight. But on the third day,
If he is not very recalcitrant subject, he
will begin to learn something and is then
considered a "broke" horse.-Cor. New
York Sun.